In honor of Independence Day, no SSTI Weekly Digest will be published July 5.

The National Science Foundation has released a new set of statistical tables that show research and development (R&D) funding levels, reported by 31 federal agencies for the last three fiscal years.

NASA has announced the Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, will team with the National Institute of Aerospace Associates (NIAA), Reston, VA, to create the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) to perform aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

The future of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) became clearer on Wednesday with Governor Mark Warner's release of Commonwealth of Virginia Strategic Plan for Technology for 2002-2006. CIT has a lead position for half of the eight initiatives outlined in the 129-page document.

Highlights of "One Virginia," CIT's portion of the plan, call for:

From angel capital to university technology commercialization, there are myriad facets to technology-based economic development (TBED). The key to success lies in a solid understanding of your respective element of the field — from grasping the policy issues to developing effective programs and practices to implementing sound evaluation techniques.

The interim director for Cleveland's new Industrial Technology Institute will be Charles Alexander, dean of the College of Engineering at Cleveland State University.

Anne Armstrong, who in July resigned as president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, is returning to Federal Computer Week as its publisher. Armstrong was with the weekly publication prior to joining CIT.

Jerald Coughter, industry director for biotechnology and medical applications for Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has been named executive director of Governor Mark R. Warner’s Advisory Board for the Virginia Biotechnology Initiative.

Maxine Lunn is leaving her position as Vice President for Technology Programs at Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology to work in international development.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published the Science & Engineering State Profiles: 1999-2000, an online database. One-page statistical summaries are given for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, permitting calculation of per capita statistics and rankings.

On Friday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released Science & Engineering Indicators 2006, an update for the nation's most significant, quantitative and neutral assessment of the health of the U.S. and international science and engineering communities.

National R&D spending increased by $10.1 billion in fiscal year 2003, according to a recent National Science Foundation (NSF) InfoBrief. The increase followed an $8.1 billion decrease in FY 2002 expenditures over the FY 2001 level, the data show.

To help business incubator managers match start-up businesses with private investors through an Internet-based network, the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) has partnered with LocalFund, Inc., a network service provider based in Billings, Mont.

The SSTI Weekly Digest will be taking a brief spring break and will resume publication on Friday, May 3. 

Industrial R&D intensity — measured by the ratio of industry R&D to Gross State Product (GSP) — can be a useful S&T indicator, because it indicates the level of private sector R&D activity and standardizes the data to eliminate geographic, demographic, historical, and natural resource differences among the states. 

Want to expand broadband in your state or community? Looking to launch a biotech initiative? Getting into commercializing university research? Are tight budgets leading to more rigorous program evaluation? Or do you simply want to help your community understand the importance of technology? 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a statistical report on Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2002. The data show trends in science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients.

Case Western Reserve University is seeking an executive director of The Power Partnership for Ohio, one of the new Wright Centers of Innovation funded in part by a $18 million grant from the State of Ohio.

By a narrow margin, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have permitted the state to issue up to $500 million in bonds over 10 years to fund technology-based economic development projects. Defeated 51 percent to 49 percent, Issue 1 would have made up the final component of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed 10-year, $1.6 billion Third Frontier project. The remaining $1.1 billion is unaffected by Tuesday's vote.

Eight of the nation's leading scientists and engineers were named on Oct. 22 recipients of the 2002 National Medal of Science — the nation's highest honor for researchers who make major impacts in fields of science and engineering. Administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the White House, the medal recognizes career-long, ground-breaking achievements and contributions to innovation, industry or education.

Looking to launch a biotech initiative? Getting into commercializing university research? Are tight budgets leading to more rigorous program evaluation?

Storm prediction, extreme ultraviolet light, clean chemical manufacturing, and implantable electronics for treating incurable diseases — all of the above will be tackled by four new Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) created by the National Science Foundation (NSF) last week. The new centers will receive a $68 million from NSF over the next five years.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has given us the first peek at the results of the 2001 survey of industrial research and development expenditures and, while the news is better than expected given the economy, the first figures provide further evidence of the struggles of the U.S. manufacturing base. Issue Brief 04-301, U.S.